good service - scubatoys.com

[Crush]

It is my tendency to complain when I am slighted by poor service. In order to be fair I should also praise someone when they extend me good service. I'd like to commend Scubatoys.com for good service.

I live in Canada. Vendors such as Scubatoys will ship to Canada, but the shipping costs are quite high. A few months ago I ordered a bunch of gear from Scubatoys and had it shipped to a receiving house in Montana. I drove to Montana (about 3 hours each way) to pick up my gear. Unfortunately the quick-disconnect power inflator hose on my new wing leaked when not connected into the inflator. I called Scubatoys and they said they would replace or repair it - so far, so good. I shipped just the hose to them from Canada as the single item was cheap enough to ship. Now the problems begin...

In a phone conversation with them I asked if they would ship the hose or replacement to my home in Canada (i.e., not to Montana). They said they would. When I shipped the hose I attached to it a description of the problem, my name, full mailing address in Canada, my phone number and my email address. To be fair I did not explicitly write that I wanted the hose shipped to Canada. After repairing or replacing the hose they must have looked up my original order and shipped the hose to Montana! Now, I really didn't feel like driving six hours to pick up a $30 item (just a guess on the price). "That is why you should deal with your LDS" someone will post.

I emailed Scubatoys to sort out the problem. The next day they apologized for "their error" (I see it as a cumulative error where both Scubatoys and I contributed) and said that they had already shipped a replacement hose to my home as of earlier that day.

To my mind, that was good service. As is happens, I will be buying some more gear (a few hundred $$ worth) soon and I know who will get my return business.

 

[redacted]

It is my tendency to complain when I am slighted by poor service. In order to be fair I should also praise someone when they extend me good service. I'd like to commend Scubatoys.com for good service.

I live in Canada. Vendors such as Scubatoys will ship to Canada, but the shipping costs are quite high. A few months ago I ordered a bunch of gear from Scubatoys and had it shipped to a receiving house in Montana. I drove to Montana (about 3 hours each way) to pick up my gear. Unfortunately the quick-disconnect power inflator hose on my new wing leaked when not connected into the inflator. I called Scubatoys and they said they would replace or repair it - so far, so good. I shipped just the hose to them from Canada as the single item was cheap enough to ship. Now the problems begin...

In a phone conversation with them I asked if they would ship the hose or replacement to my home in Canada (i.e., not to Montana). They said they would. When I shipped the hose I attached to it a description of the problem, my name, full mailing address in Canada, my phone number and my email address. To be fair I did not explicitly write that I wanted the hose shipped to Canada. After repairing or replacing the hose they must have looked up my original order and shipped the hose to Montana! Now, I really didn't feel like driving six hours to pick up a $30 item (just a guess on the price). "That is why you should deal with your LDS" someone will post.

I emailed Scubatoys to sort out the problem. The next day they apologized for "their error" (I see it as a cumulative error where both Scubatoys and I contributed) and said that they had already shipped a replacement hose to my home as of earlier that day.

To my mind, that was good service. As is happens, I will be buying some more gear (a few hundred $$ worth) soon and I know who will get my return business.

They do seem to set the bar pretty high on customer service.

But the cost of repair for such a problem is probably less than the one-way cost of postage. There is a small valve inside, just like the valve in a tire, that is almost always the cause of such a problem. The cost of the replacement is a couple dollars.

 

[Crush]

They do seem to set the bar pretty high on customer service.

But the cost of repair for such a problem is probably less than the one-way cost of postage. There is a small valve inside, just like the valve in a tire, that is almost always the cause of such a problem. The cost of the replacement is a couple dollars.

I thought that they would just send me a hose and not bother with me returning their hose since I assumed that the cost to them would be minimal. Then again, I don't truly know what their cost on the hose is.

FWIW, my "LDS" is 1.5 hours away, so even shipping the hose by mail was less than the cost of going to my LDS.

 

[cheeko8080]

I've had 2 problems with shipments from scubatoys and they were amazingly great about dealing with both issues...one issue was their fault and one was my fault but they fixed both situations no questions asked...definitely great service

 

[dburg30]

That's why you should deal with a LDS OK.. now that's out of the way (and just kidding btw)

Glad you got taken care of properly. I know we appreciate it when a customer either comes back in or calls the place I work and says "thanks". You are right that usually if someone is telling another person about a business I think like out of 20 people 17 would be complaining about bad service to their family / friends etc, and only 3 tell about good services.

 

[Clanggedin]

I personally have not had any problems from ordering from Scubatoys.com. One of my scouts did have an issue where they purchased a octo from them. Later that day scubatoys called the scout and told him that the octo he ordered was out of stock. They offered him a more expensive octo for the same price instead of telling him he'll have to wait or cancelling the order. Now that's service!

 

[redacted]

I thought that they would just send me a hose and not bother with me returning their hose since I assumed that the cost to them would be minimal. Then again, I don't truly know what their cost on the hose is.

FWIW, my "LDS" is 1.5 hours away, so even shipping the hose by mail was less than the cost of going to my LDS.

I have not confirmed it, but I'd bet your local tire store has the part.

 

[jono33]

I had great service from scubatoys as well fwiw. my LDS's don't have much selection, and prices seem a lot higher than scuba toys, plus the great service. i see nothing wrong with going with them instead of the lds, who have very limited selections and higher prices. so long as i actually get service and can still talk to people i'm good. especially if they solve problems. i'll continue to support good service.

 

[Crush]

I have not confirmed it, but I'd bet your local tire store has the part.

awap, I am sure that you are right...

But are you suggesting that scuba gear has a high mark-up?! Say it is not so!!

The prices we pay for our obsessions...

Thanks to all those who have responded. I am sure that there are many good scuba stores on the internet. So far I have trusted two with my business, and both have proven to have excellent customer service...

 

[h90]

I dealt a few times with scubatoys, shipping to a friend in USA and foreward to send to me.
I can't recall how I paid (creditcard/paypal) but usually companies are scared if a customer in Thailand with an Austrian creditcard orders with an US shipping address.....
Scubatoys had no problems with it.